Doppelganger (28 page)

What if that is not so? What if some events in the past are so profound, or so complex, that their consequences cannot be immediately reflected to the future. What if it takes… time?

Yes! Admiral Volsky and Kamenski were talking about something like this earlier. The Admiral wanted to know why we could not simply go to a history book and see what would happen during my rescue operation to fetch Orlov, or what Karpov would do in 1908. Kamenski said the events were still underway, and we were all involved, and with the power to change things. He used that term right out of the American Physicist’s technical papers—nexus point. It was like the eye of a hurricane, or the center of a whirlpool in the river of time. Everything was caught up in the chaos of change around it, yet from within that point, a willful agent could move in many directions, enter the stream of events, effect further changes that would all bear on the outcome.

So what if
Kirov
was in such a place? What if it caused a nexus to form, and these events cannot completely migrate forward to the future until its actions in the past conclude? In this case, that future might still be intact. We noticed some effects at Vladivostok when we got back there. One man claimed his house was gone, and hung himself! But yet, the world seemed largely intact, right down to the restaurant where the Admiral and I had that dinner with Karpov. That was when I was first hatching my plan to go back and rescue Orlov. Yes… I was determined to do that, and convinced that Orlov was going to cause further damage to the history. He had his damn service jacket with him.

And look what I did to the world. I found Orlov, but I took a wrecking ball to everything else. And yet… We went forward again to get to
Kazan
, and that world was still remarkably intact. I had already whispered that warning to Mironov, but the world we entered seemed to take no notice of the fact that he would kill Josef Stalin!
So the change I introduced with that warning had not yet migrated forward
. The world we entered to board
Kazan
with Gromyko was not yet altered by my meddling! Yes, there were some changes, but they were very minor. The really big things were still in play. I was again determined to go back and stop Karpov in 1908, and that was going to have everything to do with the outcome on history.

Then his logic took one last leap. What if that world we returned to
was
the same as the one we left, with only these slight alterations? We stopped Karpov, and then tried to come forward again, but we could only reach 1940. There the changes Karpov caused in 1908—the changes I had caused with my warning to Mironov, had time to take effect. The world was clearly altered, drastically different. But those changes may not yet migrate to 2021, because
Kirov
was still in the past, still operating to effect the outcome. Our story had to resolve itself before the consequences of our actions could be fully determined. If that is so… My god! Then the ship that arrived here from the future—
this ship
—must have come from the original time meridian—the world that was as yet unaltered by our actions! So my complaint that events would never stack up to permit that was faulty logic. I was assuming the future was already changed, but that may not be the case.

Of course! That is the only way this ship could be here now—the only way Karpov could be up there on the bridge. Did he replace the other Karpov in Siberia? Did that man vanish when this ship arrived here some hours ago? That thought gave him some hope, because at this point, Karpov had not yet fallen into the darkness that consumed him. He was all potential, dangerous potential, yet the possibility of redemption still remained in him.

There were still so many questions in his mind. He needed to start getting some answers. First off, where were they? Was the ship in the Norwegian Sea? That seemed likely, because that was where
Kirov
was operating when the accident happened, the first cause.

Then will events play out the same way as before? Will we soon make contact with Wake-Walker’s task force headed for Petsamo? How could that happen given what I saw? The history of the 1940s had clearly been overtaken by the wave of changes migrating from 1908. In fact, that was the theory posited by the American Physicist Paul Dorland. He called it a Heisenberg Wave, and claimed it acted to re-materialize the world to account for the changes made in the past. It migrated out from a major variation like ripples in a pool of still water. Here in the 1940s, we’ve already been overtaken by the wave that was initiated in 1908. But it has not yet reached the future in 2021! Not entirely. Some changes were seen, like the fact that the US entered the war earlier, but otherwise, things were still intact, and they should have been drastically altered.

My god… I think
Kirov
just came from that original time line, only it entered the meridian already changed by events in 1908! I’ve got to find out if this is so. I’ve got to find out what is happening on the bridge, but I must be very cautious here. As I recall events when we first shifted to 1941, we would have made contact with Wake-Walker’s task force by now. Yet the ship is quiet. I heard the KA-40’s return some time ago, and we are no longer at action stations. That would certainly support my theory that this ship entered the altered timeline. If I could just get to Nikolin, he would probably know what is happening. In fact, he’s most likely off duty by now.

That thought prompted him to get up and steal down the corridor to Nikolin’s quarters. It was very late, well after midnight, and he knocked lightly on the door, waiting impatiently. Thankfully, Nikolin was a night owl, and he had been listening to his own short wave radio, still monitoring stations as he had been on the bridge. He opened the door, surprised to see Fedorov there.

“Fedorov, how are you feeling?”

“Well enough… May I come in? I need to speak with you.”

A moment later the two men were sitting by Nikolin’s desk, where he had been playing solitaire with a deck of cards while listening to the old style music being played on the radio. Nikolin explained that it was all he seemed to find—that and old news documentaries.

Fedorov’s eye fell on the dark King of Spades, wielding a sword of doom, and arising from the very image of its own self, one king above, the other below. The image brought a strange feeling, a doppelganger, he thought grimly, just like Karpov.

“Listen,” said Fedorov in a half whisper. “I need to ask you some things. I’ve been off duty a long time. Do you know our position and heading?”

“We’re circling,” said Nikolin. “Right where
Slava
was supposed to be waiting with those targeting barges. The Admiral wants to put a submersible over the side in the morning to have a look at the sea floor.”

“Then we are in the Norwegian Sea?”

“Of course, where else?”

“Alright… Have you heard anything from Severomorsk?”

“Nothing. I can’t get through to any of our normal military bands, but my equipment was very weak until just a few hours ago, Then I started picking up this stuff.” He gestured to the small shortwave on the desk, illuminated by the cone of light from a metal hooded desk lamp.

Fedorov inclined his head, listening. “What have you found out?”

“It’s very strange, Fedorov. There’s nothing but these old news stories. That made the Admiral think there was no war, because every station would be alive with that news if something really big happened. They were just talking about the last war, bombing France, and things about the Russian front. Just old news from WWII.”

“Did you get any details?”

“Something about German ships in France. It didn’t make any sense to me. What would they be doing in France?”

Fedorov looked excited, nodding his head. “Did you hear any names?
Hindenburg
?
Bismarck?”

“That’s the one—
Hindenburg
. The BBC said the RAF was bombing French ports, and they claimed to hit that ship.”

“No other news? Didn’t the BBC carry live news feeds?”

“That’s what’s so scary. They only broadcast these old documentaries from WWII. There’s been nothing else on the band for the last five hours. I’ve heard the same thing out of Reykjavik on the AM band. And I’ve heard shortwave from the U.S. and England. I’m still listening here, because Karpov and the Admiral will want my report first thing in the morning.”

“Were these broadcasts dated?”

“Just the old dates from the documentaries.”

“What did they say?”

“Well, that’s what is so odd. It’s as if they were doing some commemorative replay of the old news reels, because they’re just reporting the news from this very day. Seems odd, especially since this is preempting all other local and international news. It’s as if nothing else is happening but this damn documentary.”

“The date, Nikolin. Can you remember it?”

“Sure—this broadcast here was BBC, and they time stamped it 28 July, 1941. That was two hours ago—the 11:00 newscast out of London. It’s past midnight now.”

That was the date Fedorov expected, yet hearing it sent another chill down his spine. It was Paradox Hour, and now it was behind him. He had finally come through to the other side of midnight, and yet he was still alive, his memories all intact, but strangely here on this phantom ship. It had arrived from the same world he left so long ago, and he was the only soul here that knew anything of all that had happened to them. He suddenly felt very lonely, but he put that emotion aside and asked Nikolin his next question.

“Have you tried using our coded ship-to-ship transmitting band?”

“Just once, right after this thing started. I tried to raise
Slava
, but nothing came back. And all my satellite links are dead too. The Captain thinks this was an attack, Fedorov, but it’s gone eerily quiet since that fog lifted.”

“Good. I Think I’ll go out on deck and have a look at the stars. If I have to plot manually tomorrow I’ll get a good fix on things tonight. What else is happening on the bridge? Any idea what the Admiral is planning?”

“Karpov wanted the KA-40s up all night, but they could find nothing so they pulled them back in. Tasarov heard nothing on sonar, and you know how good he is. I was with him for evening mess and he said he’s never heard the sea this quiet before. It’s very strange, Fedorov. But what happened to you?”

“It was nothing. I think I had a reaction to some medicine the Doctor gave me for that dizziness. I’m fine now.” Fedorov hesitated briefly, then decided to risk one more question. “Look Nikolin,” he began cautiously. “Do you remember anything else that seems odd to you. Anything about that old war?”

“You mean the documentaries? I was never good at history, Fedorov. That’s your hobby. Me? I like riddles and good music. I have some Beatles on my iPod if you want some tunes. The Admiral gave it back to me after Orlov took the damn thing today.”

Fedorov smiled. “Then you don’t remember anything about battles at sea, airplanes attacking?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, nothing I suppose. You’re right. I’m the history buff here. When do you go back on duty?”

“Morning shift as usual. You coming on duty? Karpov has been bullying your replacement. When he couldn’t get GPS coordinates and had to manually plot, he was taking too much time. He called Petrov back for the last shift, but that’s three shifts he pulled yesterday.”

“I’ll be back in the morning.”

“Well be careful. Karpov isn’t too happy. He stayed up on the bridge real late, and then ate by himself like he always does. That man is spooky.”

Fedorov nodded. “I’ll be careful. Say Nikolin, tomorrow morning do me a favor. Try our ship-to-ship one more time. Maybe Severomorsk has sent out a salvage task force.”

“We haven’t heard anything. I’ve received no messages from home at all.”

“Well just send out an ‘all ships respond’ signal—but use our coded ship-to-ship, use 272, and put it on long range transmission. Can you do that?”

“I suppose so. The Admiral has had me monitoring Fleet command link channels, but I haven’t used the coded ship-to-ship, except that one time.”

“Good. Do it first thing when we come on duty. Maybe we’ll get through to another ship close by, and that will be a nice feather in your cap.”

I can’t tell him what I’m really looking for here, that the only ship he might get through to on that channel would be
Kirov
—our ship, the one I was Captain of just a few days ago. That was our designated channel. This is going to be very scary if he does get through. What will they think? What will he think when he hears his own voice talking back to him? How will I handle that on the bridge?

“Make sure you wait until I come on duty before you try,” said Fedorov. “I don’t want to miss anything.”

No thought Fedorov, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Part IX

Backwash

“I believe that life is chaotic, a jumble of accidents, ambitions, misconceptions, bold intentions, lazy happenstances, and unintended consequences, yet I also believe that there are connections that illuminate our world, revealing its endless mystery and wonder.”

- David Moranis

Chapter 25

“Astounding.
That single Russian ship caused all this?” Maeve shook her head, unable to admit the consequences that were now threatening to destroy the entire course of modern history.

“That’s the odd thing,” said Nordhausen. “I can see no direct link as to how the ship could have caused all these events, particularly the demise of Stalin and the rise of these other figures in Russia. It’s as if something else is operating here. Are we certain that future generations are not still meddling? Are we certain they still don’t have agents in place, or working Arch complexes? They must have seen these variations, even as we have. Wouldn’t they operate to try and take advantage of this situation?”